PalmwoodsDistrict News
April 1,
1999
Page 5
Pet
Talk
With Woombye Vet Paul Shiel B.V.Sc.
Practical nutrition during puppy growth
THE energy needs of these growing pups is nearly three times that required by an adult, compared on the basis of metabolic size. Naturally a newly weaned puppy does not have the stomach capacity to consume enough food to meet its needs in one or two meals. Consequently you need to feed your pet four to six times a day, up to 12 weeks of age, then maybe cut it back, as they develop, to three to four feeds a day. Once they have reached six months then two feeds a day should be quite adequate.
The important point to consider is that you only need to let the pup or dog have it’s meal over a 10 minute period, if they have not eaten all of the food in this time, then take it away. Any subsequent meals can be altered then, to your pets appetite. The dry dog biscuits can form the basis of an adult dogs diet, as they are economical to feed. However 25 or 30% of the diet can be for dry biscuits, vegetable scraps can comprise another 25% of the diet, and the other 50% may be mince or meat strips, which is best if fed raw as it’s better for their teeth. Tinned food is expensive and is rather mushy, tending to stick to teeth and lead inevitably to tooth decay.
·===============
===============·
Sunshine CoastIntroduction
Sunshine Coast
Index
